Machine for stacking and drying can heads



March 5, 1935. P, KRUSE 1,993,554

' MACHINE FOR STACKING AND DRYING CAN HEADS Filed July 1, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 96% Wade,

ATTORNEYS. J

March 5, 1935. P. KRUSE MACHINE FOR STACKING AND DRYING CAN HEADS Filed July 1, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR M a IMQAALM K ATTORNEYS March 5, 1935. P. KRUSE MACHINE FOR STACKING AND DRYING CAN HEADS 5 Sheen s-sheet 5 Filed July 1, 1935 l l l I l I l l I INVENTOR ATTORNEYS I I I I I I I L l I Patented Mar. 5, 1935 1,993,554

MACHINE FOR STACKING AND DRYIN CAN HEADS Peter Kruse, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to E. W. Bliss Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 1, 1933, Serial No. 678,575

13 Claims. (Cl. 19835) This invention relates to machines for stack- Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in vertical ing can heads (or can ends or caps) in a dryer, mid-section. in order to properly expose them for the drying Fig. 2' is a horizontal section in the plane of a coating or composition which has been apof the line 2--2 in Fig. 1. plied to the outer flanged portion thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan partlyin horizontal section 5 It is customary, in the making of so-called on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1. sanitary cans, to apply a packing composition Fig. 4 is a plan of the circular track with its (known as compound) to the inner face of ramp. the outer flange of the can heads and then to Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the upper dry this coating before the heads are applied part of the dryer showing the magazines in plan 10 to the ends of the can bodies and united thereand illustrating the ejecting means. to by a seaming or double-seaming operation. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section of the It has been customary to construct a dryer for ejecting means on the line 6-6 in Fig. 5. this purpose as a cylinder or drum through Fig. '7 is a fragmentary view showing in verwhich heated air is caused to circulate, and to tical section one of the upright rods of the 15 provide within this drum a series of vertical magazines. stack carriers or magazines for receiving the Fig. 8 is a development in the circular path heads stacked one above another, these magaof the axes of the stacks showing in vertical zines being mounted upon a carrier rotating s cti n portions f three magazines and i uswithin the heater drum either continuously or trating the ramp. 20 intermittently; and to provide means for intro- Fig. 9 is a horizontal section of one of the ducing the successive heads with their freshly magazines in the plane of the line 9-9 in coated flanges at the bottoms of the magazines Fig. 8. successively. For this purpose an inserting Figs. 10 and 11 are vertical sections in radial mechanism has been provided, adapted to lift P an s ind cat p v y by the lines 10 25 the stack of heads, introduce the next head and 11 in Fig-8- underneath the stack and then drop the stack Fig. 12 is a transverse section of a magazine of heads upon the one just introduced,--the ca ie in t e me plane 85 rotation of the carrier serving to bring the next Fig. 13 is a fragmentary vertical section on so magazine into position to receive the next head the same scale as Figs. 8 to 10, taken on the fed into the dryer. plane of the line 13-13 in Fig. 2.

The present invention provides improved and Referring to the drawings, A designates a simplified mechanism applicable to a dryer of vertical drying chamber constructed preferthe general character thus described and adaptably in the form of a cylindrical drum. B is ed to introduce the successive heads into the a centrifugal fan for circulating heated air 3.5 successive magazines as the latter are carried through said drum and through a conduit C, around continuously. The invention also proin which at D is a heater of any suitable sort vides means for automatically feeding out the for heating the air. The fan is shown as blowdried heads from the tops of the stacks. ing the air into the top of the dryer casing A According to this invention, a ramp is prothrough an opening a into a shell b having 40 vided beneath the stack, with means for pushelongated vertical slots 0 or other openings for ing the fed-in heads up said ramp beneath the distributing the air which enters this shell. The stack and thereby feeding such head into the air is discharged through an outlet at from the bottom of the stack. In the preferred construc-- heater casing into the conduit C which returns tion the ramp is a portion of a circular track it to the fan inlet. The result of this con- 45 and a series of magazines is carried by struction is that the fan draws air from the a revolving frame or carrier so that they slide bottom of the casing through the conduit, and. over said track, the in-fed head being introblows it back into the top of the inner shell b, duced at the bottom of the ramp and each the air meanwhile having been raised in tem- 60 magazine having a pusher for engaging the inperature by the operation of the heater D. This fed head and pushing it up the ramp as the heater may be variously constructed, being shown magazine moves over the ramp. in elementary form as a gas inJector nozzle, re-

The preferred embodiment of the invention ceiving gas through a pipe e and discharging a is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, spray of flame into the air passing upward 65 wherein-- through the conduit. The heated air entering the dryer casing is conducted downwardly therein by the inner shell 12 and gradually escapes therefrom through the openings 0 into the annular space between this shell and the outer casing, within which annular space the magazines are traveling. At its bottom the shell 12' is closed by a cone b.

Within the dryer A are one or more magazines E, E, for receiving and carrying the stacks of can heads. In the drawings, these magazines are shown as ten in number; this, however, being merely one example of the construction. The magazines are caused to revolve within the annular space aforementioned which constitutes the drying chamber. For thus revolving them, they are mounted on a carrier F which is rotated by a shaft G passing through the bottom section f of the dryer. The shaft G is driven exteriorly at its lower end by any convenient driving means (not shown). The carrier F, which is separately shown in Fig. 12, comprises a central hub g keyed on the shaft G, and a disk which may be made integrally therewith and which projects outwardly beyond the bottom of the shell b and is turned upwardly and formed with an annulus or flange h, to which are attached the base shells or rings 9', :i of the respective magazines. Any other construction of carrier whereby the magazines are caused to revolve within the dryer will be suitable in place of the specific construction shown.

Beneath the series of magazines is an annular track or slideway which may comprise inner and outer rails is and 1 arranged concentrically, as shown in Fig. 4. Supplementary to these-are communicating rails m andn. The rails is, l are concentric with the path of movement of the magazines and are so spaced that they come beneath the stacks of heads'carried by the magazines. Suitably related to the point at which the heads are fed in, these rails are formed with inclined top surfaces constituting the ramp H hereinabove referred to. The ramp H is shown ure'in connection with Figs. 10 and 11 illustrates the relation of the auxiliary rails m, n to the inner track rails is, Z on which is formed the ramp H. The bases or bottom sections a of the magazines slide over the tops of the rails k, land 11:, n.

, The can heads a: are fed in laterally by any suitable infeeder, such as a revolving notched disk I, entering through a recess in the outer rails n, and being brought into position such that as the next traveling magazine comes over the head it be caught by a pusher J projecting down "from the bottom of the magazine and thereby for the head which is being pushed up the ramp to rise between them and enter into the base section a of the magazine. In so doing, the entering head lifts the superincumbent stack of heads in the magazine which until this instant have been carried on the tops of the rails k, l and on the inturned flanges o, o of the rails m, n. The

pushers J, J are conveniently made as studs or rollers sdcketed in the bottom portion of the base section i of each magazine.

p, 9 between which are upright guide rods (1. q.

preferably three in number for each magazine, these details being shown in Figs. 8 and 9. At least one of the rods q is made detachable, preferably by being formed. with an interior sliding bolt 1-, as shown in Fig. '7, pressed upby aspring s, and having a knob t projecting out through a slot, which can be engaged by the operator and pressed down to withdraw the bolt 1' and enable the upper end of the rod to be swung out from its upper socket, which permits the lifting out of the lower end of the rod. By thus removing this vertical rod, the interior of the magazine is opened up so that in case of any jamming of the stack of heads they can be removed.

The upper sections p, p of the magazines consist each of a tubular portion through which the stack of heads gradually ascends, and a lateral flange portion, the latter expanded laterally and outwardly and provided with ears through which are passed bolts 11., u (Fig. .5) whereby they are fastened together, constituting thus segments of a ring so that the upper ends of the-magazines are united rigidly together in a manner corresponding to the rigid uniting of the lower sections or bases 7', 7' thereof through the medium of the carrier wheel F. Thisupper annular construction formed by the segmental sections 7), p is formed exteriorly with a circular outer bearing surface which rides against guiding rollers 11, 12 mounted at intervals around the outer casing of the dryer A, three of these rollers being shown at v, v, in Fig. 3.

To complete the construct on of the dryer A, it has a base plate 10 on which the rails 10, Z, m, n

are mounted, and it has a top plate y of annular form, its central opening coinciding with the shell b. The top and bottom plates w, y are united by a series of tie rods '2. z.

The dryer A is formed on one side with a suitably large opening closed by a door A, which in Fig. 2 is shown partly open. It is opened only to get access to the magazines in case of any jamming or imperfect operation. This opening may advantageously extend from top to botunderstood in machines of this general type. The

particular infeeder shown comprises a notched feed disk I and a rotating disk K. The heads are introduced by any known automatic feed or by hand and deposited upon the disk K which carries them around and delivers them to the notched feed disk I. The latter disk receives them suc.

cessively into its notches, from which their escape is prevented by an outer flange or rail 1'. The disk I revolves directly over the bottom to of the dryer, which serves as a table, as shown in Fig. 13, and delivers the head under the flanges o, o' of the track rails m, n and into position.

where the pusher J of the next advancing magazine will come behind the head and'push it forward, as shown at 2: in Fig. 8. 1

-It is desirable to deliver-the dried can heads from the tops of the stacks automatically, although this is not necessary, since they canbe lifted'outmanuallyiat intervals, the operator grasping a convenient number of heads at the top of the stack and removing them by hand, for which purpose it is only necessary to provide a suitable door or opening near the top of the dryer casing. The invention, however, provides means for automatically removing the top head from each magazine during the movement of the successive magazines past the ejecting point. For such ejection a stationary ejector L is provided in suitable relation to an ejection opening M and chute N, so that as the magazines travel around within the dryer the topmost head in each stack will be intercepted by the stationary ejector and disengaged from the magazine and expelled through the opening M and delivered out down the chute N. The ejector L may be variously constructed, but is shown as a vertical rod or post projecting downwardly from the top plate y -having at its lower end a head L formed with a flange designed to enter between the topmost head and the one next beneath, so as to partially separate these heads and permit the uppermosthead to be V expelled, while not disturbing the next lower head. In order to accomplish this result it is necessary that the heads in each stack be presented uniformly to the ejector so that the point of contact between the two uppermost heads shall be always at the same level. The stack of heads has considerable elasticity, and this property is availed of by the provision of gauge stops P and P which overhang the marginal portions of the heads at the top of each magazine and against which the heads press upwardly and by which the top of each stack is held to the same level. The stop P is preferably fixed in place, while it is desirable that the stop P be yielding. Between these stops is a space sufficient to permit the passage of the fixed ejector L in the movement past it of the magazine. The yielding stop-P as shown is mounted as a lever on a pivot Q and as having a lever arm Q, which in its rotation encounters a stationary cam roller R, the location of which is such that immediately after the movement of the magazine has caused the head L of the ejector to enter beneath the topmost head the lever arm Q is depressed by the roller R and thereby the movable stop P is lifted, thereby relieving its pressureupon the topmost head and facilitating the ejection of this head. For holding the yielding stop P down, it is shown provided with two adjustable springs S, S. The ejector L is made adjustable by a vertical screw adjustment which is afforded by a threaded sleeve L having screw engagement with the top y; and to enable the ejector to yield upwardly it is seated against a spring L within the sleeve. The arrangement of the ejector in relation to the chute N is such that as the magazines rotate the ejector arrests the top head carried by each magazine and as the stop P lifts to relieve the pressure the ejector swings the head outwardly, a movement which is assisted by the frictional engagement of the margin of the head with the unyielding stop P, the movement continuing until the head frees itself from the stop P, the continued thrust against the ejector then pushing it down the incline, as shown in Fig. 6, so that it falls out through the opening M and slides down the chute N.

It will be understood that in many respects the construction hereinabove described may be varied according to the size and shape of the heads to be dried and according to the speed and other conditions to be provided for. All such variations coming within the skill or judgment of a mechanic or engineer can not be considered as departures from my invention, the essentials of which are set forth in the 'subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A head-stacking mechanism comprising a magazine to receive a stack of heads disposed in a vertical arrangement one upon' another, a stack-support at the base of the magazine 'to serve as a seat for the lowermost head of the stack, a feed-support near the'base of the magazine and at the approximate level of the stack-support but sufficiently lower to permit'a head on the feed-support to move freely under the stack-support, a ramp to aflord an inclined runway from the feed-support to the stock-support, meansfor producing relative movement between the magazine and the ramp and stacksupport, and feeding means for successively sliding heads up the ramp and thrusting each head under the lowermost head of the stack to a position between the stack-support and the heads previously stacked.

2. A head-stacking mechanism, as defined by claim 1, having in-feeding means for' moving heads along the feed-support to positions such as who engaged by the means for sliding them up the ramp.

3. A head-stacking mechanism, as defined by claim 1, having a plurality of magazines arranged in a circular series and of which the stack-support comprises a circular runway over which stacks of heads in the magazines may be moved by the relative rotation of the series of magazines with respect to the stack-support and ramp, the stack-support being provided with a passage- Way of a size such as to permit heads to be freely moved from the ramp onto the runway, and the feeding means including means for sliding a head up the ramp and onto the stack-support as each magazine moves a stack of heads over the pas-.

sageway through which the heads are caused to slide from the ramp to the runway.

4. A head-stacking mechanism, as defined by claim 1, of which the means for feeding heads up the ramp comprises a pusher carried by the magazine, the stacking mechanism being provided with iii-feeding means for moving heads along the feed-support to positions such as to be engaged by the pusher.

5. A head-stacking mechanism, as defined by claim 1, having a plurality of magazines arranged in a circular series and of which the stack-support comprises a circular runway over which stacks of heads in the magazine may be moved by the relative rotation of the series of magazines with respect to the stack-support and ramp, the stack-support being provided with a passageway of a size such as to permit heads to be freely moved from the ramp onto the runway, and the feeding means including means for sliding a head up the ramp and onto the stack-support as each magazine moves a stack of heads over the passageway through which the heads are caused to slide from the ramp to the runway, the mechanism being provided with in-feeding means for moving heads along the feed-support to positions such as to be engaged by the means for sliding them up the ramp.

6. A head-stacking mechanism, as defined by claim 1, of which the ramp and stack support are stationary and the magazine movable and of which the magazine has a head-engaging element to serve as the means for sliding the heads up the ramp.

7. A stacking mechanism comprising a traveling magazine receiving a stack of heads, a track overwhich the magazine travels, said track including'a stationary ramp, and means for feeding a head beneath the track in front of the ramp and propelling means carried by the magazine wherebythe heads are pushed upthe ramp and i 1 magazine having at its top a stop set at a fixed thereby introduced beneath the stack;

8. A stacking mechanism comprising a travel- Ina-magazine receiving a stack of heads, a track over which the magazine travels, said track including a stationary ramp, supplementary track railsat a.higher' level, and means for feeding a head under said supplementary track rails in advance of the ramp into position to.becarried by'the magazine and slid up the ramp, said supplementary rails widened at the ramp to permit the upsliding head to asoend between them in joining the bottom of the stack, and pushing means for moving the heads up the ramp.

9.- A stacking mechanism comprising movable vertical magazines and means for delivering heads from the tops thereof, comprising a stationary ejector in the form of a fixed abutment in the plane of the top head adapted to intercept and stop the movement of such head and thereby to separate the top head from the next one and mounted relatively to the path of movement of the heads to exert an outward thrust thereon, whereby to displace the top head outwardly and thereby eject it from the magazine down a delivery chute.

10..A mechanism according to claim 9, each height for limiting the height of the stack and presenting the headsat a level corresponding to that of the ejector.

11. A mechanism according to claim 9, each magazine having a'yielding stop receiving the upward pressure oi the top head of the stack. and means at the ejection point tor lifting said stop to release the top head and facilitate its election;

12. A mechanism according to claim 9, each magazine having at its top an unyielding stop and in association therewith a yielding stop, both adapted to receive the upward pressure of the stack and present the top head at the proper level for engagement by the ejector, and means at the ejection point for lifting the yielding stop to release the top head.

' 13. A mechanism according to claim 9, the ejector being a vertically adjustable post mounted on a fixed part of the apparatus.

' PETER KRUSE. 

